Meet The Tycoons Who Live At 740 Park Ave., New York's Billionaire Hive

740 Park Avenue is a legendary address, at one time considered (and still thought to be by some) the most luxurious and powerful residential building in New York City.

The co-op, on the corner of 71st Street and Park Avenue, has an impressive past.

Built in 1929 by the grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — who lived there as a child — 740 Park has just 31 residences that have commanded some of the highest real estate prices in New York history. John D. Rockefeller, financier Saul Steinberg, and Blackstone founder Steve Schwarzman have all called the building (and in fact, the same opulent apartment) home.

While many of New York's rich and powerful people have decamped to 15 Central Park West and the shiny condos rising along the new "Billionaire's Row" on 57th Street, that won't diminish classic co-ops of the Upper East Side, and 740 Park in particular, says Michael Gross. Gross is the author of "House of Outrageous Fortune" about 15 Central Park West and "740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building."

"I think in the current condo era, [740 Park] represents a previous generation of Manhattan wealth," Gross told Business Insider. "But I think that the cyclical nature of real estate makes it a very good bet that co-ops will have a comeback, and the east side will have a comeback."

740 Park opened its doors in October 1930, in the heart of the depression. It remained a 'financial sinkhole' until the 1980s, when apartment prices rose astronomically.

Source: "740 Park: The Story Of The World's Richest Apartment Building" by Michael Gross

These days, only the wealthiest types are even considered for admission to the co-op. Applicants must be able to show a liquid net worth of $100 million.

Source: "740 Park: The Story Of The World's Richest Apartment Building" by Michael Gross

But wealth isn't the only factor. Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka, junk bond tycoon Nelson Peltz, and the billionaire Leo Blavatnik have reportedly been rejected by the co-op board.

Source: "740 Park: The Story Of The World's Richest Apartment Building" by Michael Gross

See the rest of the story at Business Insider